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TCOLE: ALERT training on track and agency staffing expands amid workload growth
Summary
TCOLE staff reported the state is on pace to meet ALERT Level 1 training deadlines, with fewer than 5,000 licensees remaining untrained; commissioners also heard about major new hires and continued staffing pressures across field services and IT.
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement was told Dec. 11 that statewide efforts to meet ALERT Level 1 training requirements are progressing and that the agency has expanded staff to respond to increased responsibilities.
"We are down below 5,000 licensees that don't have that yet," Executive Director Greg Stevens said, reporting progress toward the statutory requirement that every peace officer have ALERT Level 1 on record by Aug. 31, 2027. Stevens added that fewer than 1,000 of those untrained licensees are unappointed—often the hardest to reach.
Stevens and deputy staff described recruiting gains across TCOLE: the agency has added captains, investigators and analysts and has reworked its organizational chart to place new positions where they will best support field services and training compliance. Staff said they now have roughly 101 full‑time employees plus two temporary staff and multiple job postings to fill an estimated 22 vacancies.
Commissioners commended the interagency partnerships—Texas Police Chiefs Association, Sheriffs Association of Texas, constable groups and training providers—that helped accelerate ALERT training uptake. Several commissioners said the technology improvements (rapback/subscription systems and modernized reporting) are enabling staff to identify compliance gaps more quickly but also create more work, increasing the need for additional staff or legislative budget requests.
Why it matters: ALERT training is a legislatively mandated baseline for responding to active attacks. Achieving high compliance reduces risk that licensed officers lack required response training. The staffing discussion signals that TCOLE expects to ask for continued resources in the next legislative cycle to sustain a higher workload tied to enforcement, records, and training oversight.
Provenance: Topic introduced SEG 085; ALERT progress quotes SEG 314–319; staffing details SEG 131–140.
